Posted on 03/19/2018 6:13:13 PM PDT by marshmallow
Two weeks before Easter, it wasn’t the return of Jesus this parish was looking for.
But after a mysterious package that showed up at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Hoboken, New Jersey, turned out to contain a statue that was stolen from a Nativity scene outside the church nine decades ago, the Rev. Alex Santora is doing the only thing a Christian can under the circumstances:
He’s counting his blessings.
In a feel-good story that’s generated coverage on local television stations and been picked up by The Associated Press and The Christian Post, the world is learning how a sin committed generations ago can be redeemed by a person determined to make things right.
It happened on Wednesday, when Santora received a package at the church that made him suspicious at first.
There was no return address on the parcel, and it appeared to have been wrapped somewhat amateurishly, Santora told NBC 4.
So, considering the times, when even churches have been the targets of the politically motivated or emotionally disturbed, he did what any cautious person would do.
He went to the authorities.
“The post office said, ‘It’s just from Crystal Springs, Florida, no name,'” Santora told the station. “I was still more concerned. So … I called the police.”
What they found inside contained some answers.
Amid a welter of packaging paper there was a statue of a baby Jesus and a typewritten letter from whoever had sent it:
“To Whom it may concern, My mom told me that the Baby Jesus had been stolen from the church Nativity display at Our Lady of Grace when she was a young girl of about 12 years of age in the early 1930s.
(Excerpt) Read more at conservativetribune.com ...
That’s a very nice story.
My conscience got to me after all these years.
Well, somebody’s did. And good on ‘em :-)
Fantastic.
You mean no one could figure out that some punk took it?
I wonder what motivated somebody to do that, way back then (?)
Yeah ... that's why God gave you a conscience. It prompts repentance, conversion, and (in this case) restitution. I guess if you've never sinned, you wouldn't know about that ...
[That’s a very nice story.]
Ditto. Amen!
Who the heck uses a typewriter these days?
I wish I still had one. I had the cutest little Remington Portable that I used through the late ‘60s - early ‘70s; finally let it go because it was so hard to find ribbons for it.
Does anybody still make ribbons for these, or even for the old IBM Selectric? If they did, I’d buy one or the other to have around...
I would if I could find one that worked. :)
“NJ Church Floored After 90-Year-Old Mystery Is Solved When They Look Out Front Door”
I thought it was that someone finally identified the bag lady out front as Hillary.
It reminds me a little of a news story I saw many years ago. A family had their St. Francis of Assissi statue stolen from their front yard. Then they started to receive pictures in the mail of the saint’s adventures.
St. Francis in front of Niagara Falls. At the biggest ball of string. Grand Canyon. It went on for a year. Then one morning they got up and there he was, standing in the yard just like before.
“90-Year-Old Mystery Is Solved”
You mean no one could figure out that some punk took it?
Frank Sinatra did it!
LOL! They’ve been doing that with garden gnomes, too:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelling_gnome
Ribbons easily and readily available from various vendors on line. Google it.
Got mine from Ebay and mine was from the 50s. They had quite a selection few years back
Typewriters are around. I have over 100 of them. I would sell you all of them if you wish.
Thanks to you both. I will look into it.
(I loved that little Remington - typed all of my embarrassing adolescent poetry on it :-)
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